


We Are Beautiful

by 11JJ11



Series: Shapeshifting AU [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Actual Cat Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Actual Ladybug Marinette, Animal Transformation, F/M, Love Square Fluff Week, Love Square Fluff Week 2020, One Shot Collection, Shapeshifiting AU, Shapeshifting, The Miraculous turns them into animals not heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22595776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11JJ11/pseuds/11JJ11
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir were needed in Paris, but that doesn't mean that they were welcomed. A magical beetle and a cat that could destroy anything it touched was frightening to the city, and they seemed to be anything but human.Perhaps an isolating prospect, but what was important was that they had each other.[Love Square Fluff Week 2020. Explores possibilities in my Shapeshifting AU, but is not canon to the other stories.]
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Shapeshifting AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629151
Comments: 74
Kudos: 345





	1. Day 1: Concert

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in a shapeshifting AU I’m working on. Instead of superheroes their Miraculouses turn them into animals, and the general public is scared of them and their powers.

‘My Lady? Is that you?’

The ladybug let out a small hum as she heard the voice in her mind, wings flapping wildly as she tried to navigate the dark corners near the ceiling. Her senses were a mess at the moment, so many smells touching her antennae, echoing noises of hundred of people below. She was either flying in patches of darkness, or in the bright lights of the show below.

‘Yes,’ she replied telepathically as she flew closer to the agreed meeting location. In the daytime it had been easy to find, when the concert hall was empty, but now that everyone had gathered for the performance tonight it had become pure chaos. ‘Are you positive an akuma is going to strike tonight?’ 

She caught a glimpse of neon green out of the corner of her eye, turning mid-flight as she sped towards it. She didn’t slow down, her mind still trying to sort through the array of senses coming to her– and she ended up crashing right into a mass of fur– which proceeded to shake as it let out a loud purr.

‘I see you decided to crash for the night,’ Chat said, and the ladybug let out a grumble as she folded in her wings, the protective elytra swiftly covering them as she was no longer flying. ‘And with so many emotions running high tonight? I would be surprised if Papillon _didn’t_ strike.’

She crawled up her partner's chest, scurrying past his neck and not stopping until she was on the top of his head. She settled herself into his fur, feeling much more secure on him when she was this small. He was no bigger than the average house cat, but seeing as she was a tiny ladybug he was giant to her.

‘I think you just want to see the Jagged Stone concert for free,’ she replied, and if she could smirk in this form then she would have.

‘“Free” is not the issue,’ he replied. ‘It’s seeing it at all for me, my father isn’t that keen for me to go to events such as these,’ Chat began purring once more. ‘Besides, if we didn’t come like this I wouldn’t be able to see it with you.’

‘True,’ she said after a moment of thought. ‘We have a pretty good view too, might I add.’

They were up in the rafters, perched on a metal beam above the concert hall. They were a ways back so they could see the stage, but close enough that it was just as good as front row seats. She peered out from between his fur to look down at the crowds of people below. For a moment she was tempted to grow larger, but shuddered at the thought of if someone saw her.

A just cat in the rafters? Annoying, but not the biggest concern to most people. Chat Noir and Ladybug up here though? She knew they would be less than welcomed. Especially Chat.

‘You have your symbol covered up,’ she noted, peering down as his black furry chest. A neon green paw pad that was an emblem of his power usually sat there, but he often covered it up with ink or mud to hide the fact he was Chat Noir, so he could roam the streets of Paris without the people scattering in fright.

‘Too many people out here tonight, I would have been noticed otherwise,’ he replied, laying down with a yawn. The cat was careful to keep his head balanced as to not knock her off of her perch. ‘You have it easy.’

That was true, her symbol was simply the spots present on her back, meaning she just looked like the average ladybug when transformed, and it was easy for her to blend in. Chat’s on the other hand stood out like a sore thumb, and had to put effort in his appearance.

‘At least you aren’t at risk for getting squished,’ she replied.

‘You can fly.’

‘You got to stay a mammal! Have lungs and vocal cords and a nose!’

‘You can climb up walls, heal your own wounds, are practically invisible you’re so small–‘

‘At least you actually have a natural ability to fight– claws, teeth, agility– I’m just basically a tank with the akuma!’

‘A beautiful tank,’ Chat replied with a purr.

‘...I’m literally a bug, Chat,’ Ladybug said.

‘You’re beautiful,’ He insisted.

She buried herself deeper into his fur. ‘I’m not beautiful like this, Chat, and I know it. I don’t have the cute factor going for me like you do. When I augment I’m nothing but a hideous giant bug.’

‘My cute factor is gone once I augment too, My Lady. A giant bull-sized cat isn’t exactly the most cuddly thing,’ he pawed gently at his head, not enough to knock her off, but she got the message and flew down in front of him.

He pressed his head against the metal beam they were on, trying to get as close to her eye level as possible. In the end she had to crawl up onto his paw, bumping against his nose. A puff of warm air ran over her, and he began purring once more.

‘And by the way, you _are_ beautiful,’ Chat’s telepathy became softer. ‘You’re kind, brave, funny, selfless. You help protect a city that’s looking for any reason to turn against us.’

‘Chat–’

‘Trust me, Ladybug, I’ve been around plenty of people that the world would claim as “beautiful”, and they’re some of the most toxic people I have ever met. You on the other paw... You do everything in your power to be a good person, and I can’t think of anything more beautiful.’

She had no reply.

Chat brought his paw in close, gently bumping the top of her elytra with his nose. ‘Let’s enjoy the show, shall we?’

The crowd below let out a wild cheer as Jagged Stone went out on stage, Chat Noir joining in with several loud meows. She could see his excitement– ears perked, tail swishing, pupils dilated. At times it was surprising how easily she could read him, but after how long they had worked together it was to be expected.

She knew the people in the city feared them, even if they had come to need them with the presence of akumas. No matter what they did they were just unnatural to them, dangerous, fused with a foreign magic they couldn’t understand. She had come to accept these terms a long time ago.

But as she looked up at Chat, her Kitty happily purring away, she realized he was right.

They were beautiful.


	2. Day 2: Trust

Marinette was woken up by a scratching on her skylight.

She groaned as she turned over in bed, having never been easy to wake up. She muttered something as the scratching continued, eyes cracking open to see darkness. She blinked weakly in confusion, because this was no time to wake up. She let out a yawn, stretching as she sat up, looking about at her dimly lit room. Nothing seemed out of place, except for the fact that Tikki was not curled up next to her.

This jolted her awake, a wave of panic running through her. Marinette’s hands flew up to her ears, but her earrings were still in tack. She opened her mouth to call for the kwami, when the scratching began once again, more persistent than before. She looked up at her skylight, were a pair of green paw pads could be seen scratching away at the glass.

“Chat,” she whispered, a smile tugging on her face, and she threw her covers off. The presence retreated from the skylight so she could push it open, and she pulled herself up onto her balcony.

Curled up on her pink chair was a mass of black fur, a pair of bright green eyes staring up at her. The cat let out a loud purr as she plugged in her fairy lights, its tail curling around his lean body. He looked like your average stray cat– cuddly, a bit on the scruffy side– save for the neon green markings on his chest, in the shape of a cat’s paw print.

She put her hands on her hips. “You know it’s the middle of the night, right?”

The purring paused, Chat Noir letting out a meow after a moment. Marinette wouldn’t say she could speak cat, but after working alongside one for so long she could interrupt their body language fairly easily. She could tell that he wasn’t ashamed of waking her up at all– if anything he was smug. He even had the nerve to give her an innocent look, blinking his bright eyes blankly at her.

“Silly kitty,” she whispered, scratching the top of his head. The purring started up once again, the cat pressing up against her hand for more. His fur was silky, something she could never really appreciate when she was transformed herself– both because they were usually in the middle of a battle, and her senses in that form were different than when she was human.

“Mrow,” he meowed after a moment, leaping from the chair to her railing so they were closer to the same level. He walked around the edge so he was in front of her, flicking his tail.

“Do you need me to cover up your paw print?” She asked after a moment, reaching out to touch the bright green fur on his chest.

Sometimes she used makeup, sometimes ink, but more recently she had been buying temporarily black hair dye. None of which should be used on a real cat of course, but she figured on a human-magically-transformed-into-a-cat it should be fine.

Of course he didn’t know that she knew he was human– revealing that information to him could reveal her identity.

She didn’t know why the kwamis insisted that they hid their identities from each other– what was the worst that could happen? No one else in Paris was aware that the magical animals that ran through the city were really human under the fur and elytra, and if she was able to contact him when they weren’t transformed they could coordinate so much easier, be more prepared when an akuma struck.

“Mrr,” he rumbled, hesitating, before shaking his head. To Chat she was just another civilian– but a civilian that recognized he was smarter than just an average cat. As comfortable as he was around her, he was still cautious to just what he revealed to her– including his intelligence. 

“Then what do you need?” She asked, surprised that he didn’t want help hiding his symbol. It was something she had done for him several times to help have the chance to wander the streets without people scattering in fear. To just be a stray cat instead a monster of destruction.

There was a cruel irony to it all, when they had first appeared in Paris Chat Noir had been the least feared of the two of them. A cuddly cat was much more appealing than a giant insect after all, but once the city had grown used to their powers a stigma towards the cat had quickly formed.

They now easily favored the ladybug that healed them than the black cat that could destroy things with a single touch.

Cat Noir looked down for a moment, before throwing himself into her arms. She was startled for a moment, before wrapping his arms around him to support his form. He pressed up against her, purring contently, and a smile spread across her face. She closed her eyes as she held him close, running her fingers through his fur.

“Just want some company, huh?” She whispered, and the purring became louder.

Sometimes it hurt that she couldn’t tell him that she was Ladybug, the partner he trusted so much, but sometimes she preferred things this way. Knowing how much Chat trusted _Marinette_ , without knowing her as anything else but a civilian... it was something special.

“I got you a gift,” she said after a moment, setting him down next to her potted plants. Chat blinked, tilting his head in confusion as she hurried back towards the skylight. “Wait there, I’ll be right back.”

With that she slipped into her room and out of her loft, heading towards were she kept all of her sewing supplies. She saw a pair of blue eyes peering out at her from behind her sewing machine, Tikki clearly disapproving of these visits from Chat. She didn’t say anything to her kwami, just grabbing the red object sitting out and heading back towards the balcony.

Chat was peering down at her through the skylight, ears pricked curiously. She knelt down next to him, not giving him a chance to look at the item in her hands as she wrapped it around his neck. Chat Noir let out a confused meow as she secured the ribbon around him, looking down to try to get a look at what she had put on him.

It was a red ribbon with black dots, a nod to Ladybug, tied in a bow. Stitched to the center of the bow was a golden bell. He tried to bat at it a few times with his paw, though it didn’t make a noise. She knew how much he loved his stealth as a cat, and she didn’t want to take that away.

“You look adorable,” Marinette said with a grin, and he glared at her with his ears back. She couldn’t hold back a laugh, and could only imagine what he could be saying as he let out a string of meowing, so she just enjoyed his flustered expression.

“Mrr!” He said with a huff, turning his back on her.

“Come on Chat, it’s just a joke,” she said, poking him in the back. “It’s velcroed right under the bow, you should be able to take it off easily. You shouldn’t take it off though, it’s better for a cat to have a bell after all.”

“Mrow?” He snapped, turning towards her with what was clearly a frustrated ‘why?’. It was moments like these she could clearly see the human in him, and she desperately longed to know what he looked like when he wasn’t transformed.

“Because a cat with a bell has a home,” she said with a smile. “Paris may be scared of you– but you’re always welcomed here.”

He quickly went still as she said this, giving her a look she wasn’t quite sure how to read.

He stopped trying to bat the ribbon from off his neck, and he threw himself into her arms once more. She closed her eyes as she held her kitty close, his comforting purr rumbling through him. He rubbed his head against her chin, paws kneading into her arms, doing everything he could to get closer than the contact they already had.

They ended up on her chair under her awning, Chat curled up on her stomach as she laid back, fingers absently running through his dark fur. The night was cool, yet his presence was warm, and she found herself starting to drift off in the calming silence of it all.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning she was alone on her balcony. The rising sun blinded her as she twisted in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable position. She wrapped her blanket around her, something she knew she had not had last night.

She slowly sat up, looking about, half hoping to see a certain feline watching over her. Instead she just saw that her fairy lights were off and her skylight was shut– several more things she knew that wasn’t how she left them. She fingered the blanket, her heart thumping, knowing that he must have brought it out here for her, but for him to do that effectively...

He must have detransformed.

Her heart raced at the thought– had he really risked his identity being found just to bring her a blanket? To make sure the lights were off so she could rest in the dark? Risk not only his identity, but the fact that he was human as well? She knew Tikki would not have approved if she had done such a thing, and she wondered if his own kwami had given him a hard time for it. It wasn’t something he should have done, but she knew why he had.

Because he cared about her– not just as Ladybug– but as Marinette. He trusted her.

And that meant the world to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Chat's cat form.](https://graaythekwami.tumblr.com/post/190157379325/chat-noir-as-a-cat-for-a-fic-im-working-on-an-au)


	3. Day 3: Flowers

“This is getting ridiculous!” Plagg snapped. “Utterly ridiculous!”

“Thanks Chloe,” Adrien said as he added his order to his cart, clicking to go pay. His kwami was hovering in front of his computer screen, paws crossed. “Don’t you have any cheese to go eat?”

“Don’t you have anything better to do than work on your fake garden!?”

“Why are you so opposed to it?” Adrien snapped.

“I’m not an idiot, kid!” Plagg growled. “I’ve been alive longer than you could comprehend. I’ve seen you Googling ‘what plants attract ladybugs’ and ‘what flowers do ladybugs like’, and you’re an idiot to think it’s actually going to work.”

“It already has worked,” Adrien replied, gesturing to below his window, which had been converted to a miniature garden of potted plants– several of which he had found ladybugs crawling on before. 

It had taken Nathalie some convincing when he had first started ordering seeds, pots and potting soil– but after making up something about reading an article about having natural plants within your home could help you have clearer skin she had relented (on the condition that he didn’t get his room or clothes covered in dirt). Everything had to be contained to the long table that now rested below his window, but it was more than worth it.

Gardening had become a fun pastime for the long hours he was locked in his room, especially since he had been forbidden from a young age from helping out in the mansion garden by both his mother and father. As much as they loved the natural beauty on their property, they didn’t like it on their son. Still, some of his fondest memories with his mother had been them wandering out in their garden together, so having flowers and plants right in his room brought back some happy memories.

He also wondered if gardening was a fashion trend at the moment, as he noticed both Marinette and his father had an increase of potted plants on their balcony and office.

“There’s a difference between ladybugs and Ladybugs– she’s not about to come flying into your room because you have a bunch of cosmos planted,” Plagg said in exasperation. “Just because you can turn into an animal doesn’t mean you act like them.”

“Catnip,” Adrien said simply, which shut Plagg up– they had both agreed not to talk about the catnip incident after all.

He stood up, making his way over to his miniature garden. He had a variety of flowers: cosmos, marigolds, geraniums, and more. It was more than just garden of flowers too, fennel, cilantro, among other plants could be found in his collection. It all smelled quite nice (horrendous, in Plagg’s opinion), and helped to cover up the smell of Camembert that lingered on him and in his room (much to Plagg’s disappointment). They were all plants that were supposed attracted ladybugs, and while he wasn’t a hundred percent sure all the websites were true it seemed to have done its job, because he had found a few of the beetles in his little garden on days when he left the windows open.

None of them were Ladybug, though.

Perhaps it was a bit of wishful thinking, that Ladybug would just turn up in his room because of some plants, he was sure she wasn’t about to go flying into someone’s room (and why would she even be near his house?), but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t holding out that she might turn up. Sure he saw her quite often when they went to battle, but it wasn’t often they could just be together. The thought of seeing his Lady made his heart race, and just the knowledge that she was _okay_ helped soothed nightmares of the battles they had faced.

Plagg let out a huff as he picked up his watering can to tend to his plants, diving into a laundry basket saying it smelled too fresh in here. Adrien could only smile, before staring out his window.

He wondered if infesting his plants with aphids would attract more ladybugs.

* * *

Adrien grew bored of his piano practicing half way through it– so he switched on the recording of him playing and flopped onto his bed. Before school and Hawk Moth he had been content with playing the piano, but now that he had tasted freedom he found he grew bored much more easily. It wasn’t like he hated the piano, but his father’s expectations were too much at times.

He couldn’t turn on the TV, games, or music– that would be a dead give away for his fake practice, so he just laid there staring at the ceiling. Strange how doing nothing was more appealing than doing what he was told at times. Of course this only lasted for a couple of minutes, and he rolled off his bed to do his favorite thing his room had to offer: gardening.

His new supplies had arrived this morning, and he was happy to get to work planting the cosmos seeds he had just gotten– specifically _white_ cosmos– which apparently were better at attracting ladybugs than the other colors he had. He didn’t know how true it was, but he was more than happy to try it. He filled up his newest pots with soil, humming to himself as he did so. It had taken him a while to learn not to over-water plants and sometimes he had forgotten to water them, but now he felt he was pretty good when it came to gardening.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he saw a small red figure on one of his marigold’s leaves.

It was a little ladybug, small enough to sit on the tip of his finger. Most people probably wouldn’t even blink at it, but all it took for him was a glance to recognize her. A shade of red that was so familiar it was comforting, five black dots that were perfectly round and perfectly symmetrical– two on each elytron, and one in the very center. A scientist would say that it didn’t resemble any known species of ladybug, but to Adrien all he saw was a being that meant nothing but safety and trust.

“Ladybug,” he whispered in awe, barely believing his eyes. She was here in his garden, Ladybug was right in front of him!

She stiffened up slightly as he spoke, before continuing to crawl along the leaf without a care, clearly just trying to act like a normal bug. He bounded over to her, kneeling down so they were closer to the same level, but he didn’t reach out to hold her like he often did when a ladybug found its way into his room. He stared at her for a few seconds, before realizing how creepy that probably was, and pulled back slightly.

It took everything he had not to say ‘My Lady’, because Plagg would probably Cataclysm him then and there for being such an idiot. He shifted back and forth, not quite sure what to do. He wanted to talk to her, but he also didn’t want to scare her off with being recognized. 

“Um...” he began uncertainly, before clearing his throat. “Um, hi Ladybug. I know it’s you, er, by the way.”

The ladybug froze up once again, scurrying across the leaf, before once again trying to act like a normal bug that most certainly did not understand him and that he most certainly had misidentified. He had to hold back a laugh, because he knew that Ladybug had never been recognized when she was normal sized, only once she augmented did people realize she was one of the magical creatures that roamed the city.

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I... I honestly don’t know what to say. Er, thank you? I guess. For protecting Paris, you don’t get nearly enough credit as you deserve.”

Ladybug went still once more, recognizing that she had truly been recognized. She turned on the leaf she was on, staring at him with a look he couldn’t read. He found himself straining his mind, waiting to hear her words in his head, but he couldn’t unless he transformed himself. His heart sank slightly because of that, but still he smiled at her.

He wondered what he looked like to her with her so small. He knew her eyesight wasn’t like a regular ladybug, his research said they saw in black and white, while his Lady said she still saw in color. It was the same for him, he saw the same range of colors as when he was human, though his eyesight was much sharper when transformed.

“I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but I was actually hoping that you’d show up in my garden,” he said, rubbing the back of his head again. “I didn’t think you’d ever come though, but I planted it with you in mind. All these plants are supposed to be ones that ladybugs like– do you like them?”

He could see her hesitate, swaying slightly in place, before she gave a nod with her tiny head. It was hard to catch with her small form, but he knew it was a yes.

He smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. Um... could you go bigger? It’s kind of hard to see you when you’re so tiny.”

Again she hesitated, swaying adorably on her leaf, before going still. The center spot on her back vanished, and she slowly began to grow in size. A moment later there was a four-spotted ladybug clinging to the leaf, now roughly the size of a bottle cap– still small enough to be nimble and generally out of sight, but much too big to be a true ladybug.

He smiled. “That’s so cool,” he said, even though he could do the same himself when transformed, but he knew how nice it was to have a civilian that didn’t stare at them like they were a mutant. “It must feel pretty weird, I hope it doesn’t hurt.”

She shook her head from side to side, and her elytra flared open. She flew up and landed on top of a pink cosmos, staring at him. She circled around the petals, which dipped under her weight, until she settled in the middle.

“Pink suits you,” he blurted out suddenly, and he felt a blush appearing on his face. “I m-mean it looks really nice with your red. You can keep the flower if you want, this garden was made with you in mind after all and–“

He fumbled, reaching for the scissors he used as garden clippers, and clipped the cosmos stem. He lifted the flower up, and found himself stuttering for words with her so close. He mentally face palmed, he was never like this around her when he was transformed! Why was he like this now?

“W-wait, you can’t carry it, can you,” he stammered. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking–“

She flicked her elytra open, and he saw another one of her spots vanishing as she began growing once more. This time she was bigger than his fists, and her wings were making a clear buzzing sound as she hovered there in the air. It was a mere fraction of the size she could manage when facing an akuma, but yet still giant for a bug.

He held out the flower, and she wrapped her six legs around the stem. She took a moment to find her balance with it, but seemed to have no real struggle carrying it. He smiled as she watched him, and she gave him a nod of acknowledgement, before turning towards the window.

He stared after her as she flew away, disappearing out of sight as she flew up and over the mansion. Adrien couldn’t help but let out a sigh, grinning from ear to ear as he sank down onto his couch.

“Isn’t she amazing, Plagg?” He asked in a soft voice.

“She’s a good Ladybug,” Plagg acknowledged. “But you’re ridiculous.”

He just let out another sigh, his thoughts on Ladybug and the flower. Would she keep it after she detransformed? Would she mention to Chat that she had been given a flower? Okay, maybe that last one was wishful thinking, but so had been her showing up and she had! He found his mind constantly turning towards turning towards Ladybug and the cosmos, hoping at the very least it had made her happy in some way.

Yet strangely when he went to visit Marinette that night his mind wasn’t on flowers, and he didn’t even blink at the pink cosmos sitting in her room.


	4. Day 4: Your Voice

‘Behind you!’ A voice echoed in Chat Noir’s mind.

A loud roar filled the air as the bowling ball slammed into his side at unnatural speeds. The force of the blow sent him flying across the park, fresh bruises forming under his fur. With a snarl he pushed himself to his feet, shaking slightly from the strain, letting out a hiss.

He was currently the size of a large tiger, rippling muscles tensing as he dragged himself to his feet. Chat was shaking slightly, having been pushing himself since the fight began. You’d think someone losing a bowling match wouldn’t be much of a threat, but being able to summon giant pins straight up from the ground and fire bowling balls at high speeds did not make for a pleasant battle.

“Here kitty-kitty,” the akuma who called himself Strike cooed, unfazed as he bared his fangs. A bowling ball materialized in his hands, causing Chat to tense.

Strike didn’t have time to fire it– as a beetle the size of a car rammed right into him.

‘Only I can call him kitty!’ Ladybug’s telepathy slammed into his mind with a rage, her elytra rattling.

‘Thank you, m’lady,’ he was panting, side aching from where he had been hit.

‘I’m down to one spot,’ Ladybug said in worry, and sure enough only one black dot remained on her back.

‘Me too,’ Chat said, briefly glancing down at his chest, where his paw print emblem was now just a single green dot. They both could only activate their powers one more time– then they wouldn’t be long until they were forced back into their human form.

He leapt up onto the park wall, prowling forward, eyes never leaving the akuma. A purple mask covered Strike’s face, and they could only assume that Papillon was speaking to him. They weren’t quite sure how much the self proclaimed “Hawk Moth” could communicate with his victims; no one remembered their time being akumatized, and Papillon wasn’t about to have a peaceful conversation to tell them all about it.

While he may have been as big as a tiger, he wasn’t built like one. So when another bowling ball came flying at him he was able to jump straight up with ease, claws digging into metal as he dragged himself up onto a lamppost. He found his balance just in time for a bowling ball to slam into his front leg, a crack echoing in his ears as he was send flying.

 _‘Chat!’_ Ladybug cried as he let out a roar of pain, falling from his perch. A bowling pin burst out of the ground, hitting his already bruised side. He was sent flying straight up in the air, and he twisted about, turning his legs under him as he came crashing towards the ground–

They say cats always land on their feet, but today that wasn’t a good thing.

He let out a shriek of a yowl as he landed on all fours, his broken leg sending waves of pain through him. He staggered back, holding his front leg up, but the pain refused to fade. Ladybug turned, scuttling towards him as fast as her bulky form could allow. He could see a faint glow on her, ready to release her healing energy.

‘No!’ He shouted telepathically. ‘You only have one left– you need to save it for after the battle!’

‘You’re hurt!’ She cried, watching as he sank to the ground, and Strike let out a laugh. The akuma waved his arm, a wall of giant bowling pins surrounding them, boxing them in. Ladybug began slamming into them. She was making them shake from the force, but it would take more time to break though than it would for the akuma to finish him. Normally she could just fly over, but one of Strike’s bowling balls had torn her wing earlier in the fight.

Chat was panting heavily, trying not to shake in pain as Strike turned towards him. ‘Let him come,’ he told her. ‘I think I know where Papillon is hiding.’

There was no clear object on the akuma that Papillon could have merged with– the bowling equipment he had were summoned, not with him. Chat’s gazed were now focused on his shoes, however– a simple black compared to the rest of Strike’s colorful outfit. They were also the same kind of shoes the bowling alleys had when he had gone bowling with Nino.

“No where to run now, kitty cat!” The akuma boasted, approaching the injured Chat Noir with a grin. He forced himself to inch back, ignoring the horrible pain in his leg, just making it look like he needed to get away. Another bowling ball appeared in Strike’s hands as he came closer.

Using all the force he had in his hind legs he sprang forward, a Cataclysm covering his paw as he slashed down towards Stirke’s shoes. It was a risky gamble, as this was his last burst of energy he could put into the fight. His leg felt like it was on fire as his claws touched the shoes, which disintegrated in seconds, the last green mark on his chest fading.

Chat Noir could feel himself shrinking back down to the size of a house cat, no longer able to support his augmented form. Strike let out a desperate cry as he struck, and much to his relief he saw the bubbling black energy surrounding him as his akumatization faded. The bowling pins around them turned to dust, leaving behind holes from where they had sprouted. Moments later Chat found himself at the feet of a very confused teenager, who scrambled back from the black cat in front of him.

Flying up from the remains of his shoes was a lavender butterfly, quickly spiraling up higher into the sky. Chat Noir’s eyes locked onto the emblem on its wings– he still had three more markings left.

‘Ladybug!’ He called out as the pain became unbearable, and Ladybug released a wave of pink light from her. It swept across the park and the streets, repairing holes and dents, restoring the city to the way it had been before. Chat Noir let out a shudder as it washed over him, healing his broken bones and bruises in mere seconds, his pain being swept away.

Ladybug was now down to zero spots, the giant beetle shrinking back down to her normal size. They both had roughly a minute until they turned back, and much to his horror Papillon wasn’t flying away as he often did.

Instead he began to grow, the shadow of a giant butterfly falling across them. The boy that had been possessed by Papillon mere moments before let out a cry of fear, bolting away as fast as he could as a rush of wind blew across the park as the butterfly flapped its wings.

For a creature that most saw as beautiful, Chat only looked up in sheer terror.

His mind told him not to move, as if still believing his limb would cause him pain, but he knew there was no time to waste. He sent a silent apology to the city as he leapt to his feet, bolting towards where he had last seen Ladybug– they could not stay and fight Papillon today.

He saw a glimpse of red in the grass as he ran, and maw opening he reached down and scooped it up in his mouth. He sensed Ladybug panic at this action, and he only paused long enough to place her on his chest before he began racing down the street. He could hear Papillon flying after them, but he was much faster. He slipped into an alleyway that the giant bug could not follow him into, and bolted onto another street.

They were about to detransform, and he didn’t know what to do.

He could feel Plagg struggling to hold his transformation for just a bit longer, and he bolted into another alleyway. There was no time to think, no time to talk to Ladybug, he just needed a place to hide. He saw a backdoor open to a store, and didn’t even blink as he slipped inside, green eyes flashing about.

The half open closet caught his gaze, and just as fur began to give way he bolted inside. He felt himself beginning to grow in size, a green light flashing about him as claws became fingers. He slide them under the closet door, tugging it shut as Plagg came flying out of his ring, draping him and Ladybug in darkness as the door slammed shut.

His breathing was ragged as he sat there, human once more, heart pounding in his ears. One hand cupped his chest, and he could feel Ladybug bumping up against his fingers. His thoughts were trying to catch up to what had just happened, but before he could say a word the ladybug below his hand began to swell, pink light filling the air.

He closed his eyes as a weight fell across his chest, a human now resting on top of him.

Ladybug was right in front of him. Detransformed.

His eyes snapped open before he could think, but it was too dark to see anything. He could feel the way she tensed on top of him thought, and he could hear her ragged breathing. They stayed like this for a moment, before she scrambled back, slamming into the wall of the small closet.

He naturally reached out with his mind, but with him being human once more his telepathy was gone. He swallowed, feeling Plagg land on his shoulder, the tension in the air thick– yet nothing about it frightening.

Then, among the darkness and the silence, he heard it.

“Kitty?” The small voice whispered, gentle and sweet, and so full of longing.

His heart skipped a beat, a lump getting stuck in his throat. For a voice he had never heard before it was all so familiar, and tears sprung to his eyes. His Lady had spoke– for the very first time he was hearing her voice! A hand covered his mouth, taking in a sharp breath, because somehow it was all too much.

But still he found his own voice, and quietly replied. “My Lady.”

He could hear her sharp intake as he spoke, and again silence lingered between them. Plagg tensed on his shoulder, yet he didn’t say anything, not wanting to disturb what was happening between them. So desperately he wanted to tear open the door and see her face, but he knew better than to do so.

His heart then twisted as he heard Ladybug let out a sob.

“My Lady?” He said again, this time nervousness edging his voice.

“It’s you,” she whispered, voice cracking slightly. “It’s really you.”

“Your voice is beautiful,” he blurted out before he could think about his words, and she let out a sound that seemed somewhere between a laugh and a cry. He didn’t want her to cry, even though he knew they weren’t tears of sorrow. His own tears were running down his face, and he felt his hand reach out into the darkness.

“So is yours, Chaton,” she whispered.

“Ladybug?” He asked softly. “Can I... can I touch you?” He realized just how horrible this sounded the moment it left his mouth, and panic ran through him. “I mean like hold your hand! C-can I hold your hand, please. I want... I want to...”

He wanted to feel her, _human_ her, to know she was really there. For a moment he heard nothing; not tears nor shifting in the dark closet, then he felt a hand gently rest on his knee.

He covered it with his own hand, and both of them tensed for a moment, before their fingers intertwined. Her other hand came forward, brushing against the back of his, and so he did the same. Their hands explored each others hands, gently touching soft skin as if they were handling pure gold. She was so warm and so gentle– and it was all real.

He leaned forward, and gently placed a kiss against her knuckles.

Ladybug took in a sharp breath, and he went still. Neither removed their hands from the other, not wanting to lose this contact they had just gained. They sat there in the darkness for a moment, when suddenly Ladybug threw herself forward into his arms.

She was pressed up right against him, and his hands left hers in favor of cradling her against him. Her hands when to his face, running across his cheeks and eyes, while his ran down her back. It was not in an intimate way, if anything it was almost childlike, trying to embrace the reality in front of them that they were not allowed to see.

He ran his fingers through her silky hair, while her hands brushed by his neck. Their kwamis had drifted away from them, and though they could feel their stares they didn’t care. Their partner was in front of them in a way they had never had before, and he found himself craving to hear her voice once more.

She ran her fingers through his hair. “What color is your hair?”

Ladybug spoke in a hushed tone, in a manner as if she weren’t expecting an answer, and he knew that he shouldn’t give her one. Yet in that moment he didn’t care, leaning his forehead against hers, and they could feel the other’s breath.

“Blond,” he muttered softly, and she shook as she let out a soft laugh. “And yours?”

“Black,” she whispered back. “I... never imagined you with light hair, I always thought it would be dark like mine...”

“Because I have black fur as a cat?” He asked, and he felt his breath get caught in his throat as she let out that wonderful laugh once more. He reached out, running his fingers across her closed eyes. “What color are your eyes?”

“Blue,” she said, and he felt more tears in his eyes. Just being able to hear her... it was something he could not describe. Her voice was like a running brook, or like chimes: beautiful, natural, hypnotic.

“What kind of blue?”

She took a moment before she replied. “...My father says they’re like bluebells. What color are yours?”

Bluebells. He was going to plant bluebells in his garden.

“You already know.”

“...Green?”

“Yes, but not as bright as when I’m a cat,” his arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest, foreheads still touching. “They’re like... peridots.”

She let out a snort. “Only you would describe yourself like a gemstone.”

“Don’t worry, m’lady, I think you’re of far more value,” he replied with a smirk.

He expected her to laugh, or perhaps she’d bump up against him and call him ‘silly kitty’ like she so often did. He was prepared for just about anything, just as long as their conversation continued, as long as he could hear her voice some more– yet she only went still, hands resting on the sides of his face.

And then the next thing he knew she was leaning into him, her lips capturing his in a sudden kiss.

He let out a gasp as she did so, but his surprise only lasted for a moment. His arms wrapped around her tighter, leaning into the kiss as they embraced. It was chaste, it was his first, yet it was the most amazing thing he had every experienced. 

He had never had anyone so close, felt such strong emotions– all he knew was that she was there, she was kissing him, and that he never wanted the moment to end.

They pulled back, eyes fluttering open, though they only saw darkness. They both knew that they needed to go, that they couldn’t remain like this. They couldn’t be found, they couldn’t discover the other, yet the thought of leaving was so painful. She was right here in front of him, in a way they had never been before, and he held her tighter.

“Chaton,” she whispered, lips still right above his. “I... I love you.”

More tears stung his eyes, and without any hesitation he brought her into another kiss.


	5. Day 5: Comfort

“Chat? What are you doing here?”

“Mrow,” the black cat replied, sitting at the foot of her bed.

She yawned and stretched, eye scanning the pillow where Tikki usually slept, but the kwami was currently hidden somewhere else. She turned her gaze back towards the Chat Noir, who was giving her an intent stare. She wasn’t quite sure what he was doing back here, because she knew for certain he had left after his visit last night.

Yesterday hadn’t been a good day, Lila had decided to slid into one too many conversations Marinette had been in, and just a few too many lies had slipped through her mouth. It was nothing major, but it had felt like Lila had constantly been hovering over her shoulder, and the stress had caught up to her. She had ranted to Chat Noir when he came by, and she had ended up telling the cat just about everything that had happened between her and the liar.

He had been calm a first, purring reassuringly as she spoke and rambled, just listening like she needed. The only other person that believed that Lila was Lie-la was Adrien, but even he she hadn’t told everything, but she was more than comfortable to do so with Chat Noir. When she told Chat about being cornered and threatened in the bathroom she had expected maybe a growl or hiss from him– but he had full on let out a violent snarl.

Fur raised, eyes in slits, hisses and growls sputtering out from his throat. He had wheeled around to face her, and had begun letting out a string of meowing. She had seen the questioning and concerned look in his eyes, but couldn’t decipher exactly what he was trying to say. She had said her goodbyes shortly after that, telling him she was fine, and she had thought that would be the end of it.

“I’m not even going to ask how you got into my room,” she told the cat, who rolled his eyes. “I need to get ready for school– what do you need?”

“Meow,” he, well, meowed. He tapped his chest with a paw, his signal that he wanted her to help hide his emblem.

She frowned. “Don’t you have to go to school too?”

The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying, and her eyes widened as she spoke. Chat Noir went still, pulling back slightly, giving her a wary glance. Her heart started thumping, because she was not supposed to know anything about his personal life, let alone know that he had one. He was a cat, she was only supposed to know him as a cat–

She let out a burst of laughter, fueled more by fear than humor. “Oh man, could you imagine? A little cat-school filled with all these kittens– that would be so adorable!” She quickly blurted out the first non-sense that came to her head, anything to cover up her slip up. “Would you be their teacher? Showing them your fighting ways.”

Chat Noir stared at her for a moment longer, before rolling his eyes and giving a playful meow. She scooped him up and took him into the bathroom, knowing she needed to be quick about hiding his emblem if she still wanted to make it to school on time. Marinette said her goodbyes to the now completely-black black cat on the balcony, before hurrying back inside to get ready for school herself, thinking that would be the last she saw of Chat for today.

However when she got to school there was a certain black cat sitting on the desk in front of her.

She stared at the cat just sitting there in her classroom, a familiar red bow and bell around its neck. Humored green eyes slipped towards her as she entered, looking quite content with himself. Several of her classmates were already gathered around him, cooing and petting him, Chat’s loud purrs filling the air.

“What are you doing here?” She demanded, storming up to the desk, and everyone looked at her in surprise.

“Mari, isn’t he adorable?” Rose said excitedly, showing her the cat. “He was just sitting here when I came in!”

“He clearly belongs to someone,” Alix said, nodding to the bow around his neck.

“He’s mine,” Marinette said without a second thought.

“When did you get such an adorable kitty?” Rose asked, now holding Chat Noir in her hands. “He’s just the biggest sweet heart! I imagine it wasn’t too hard to adopt him though, I actually heard the adoption rates of black cats have been down in the last few months.”

“Mrr?” Chat paused mid-purr, looking up in surprise.

“Is he that stray you say has been keeping you up at night?” Alya asked, and Marinette reached out to scoop up Chat into her own hands.

“Yeah,” she said, looking at him disapprovingly as he started purring once more. What did he think he was doing coming to her school? She knew he was her age, he had his own classes to get to! “He comes by several times a week. I can’t keep him inside because of the bakery, but he’s my buddy. My buddy who shouldn’t be here at school with me.”

Chat Noir meowed innocently.

“You can’t throw him outside,” Mylene said. “He followed you here, that’s so sweet. I’m sure Miss Bustier will let him stay for today.”

“I doubt it,” Marinette said– but in the end she had to eat her own words. Chat Noir had flashed her several smug looks when he had been allowed to stay, as along as he wasn’t a distraction, and cat had immediately made himself right at home in the classroom.

He spent most of his time sitting on Adrien’s empty desk, who through Nino they had learned was grounded for the week. Chat either stared up at the board as the teacher talked, or was rubbing up against Nino while purring loudly. When he wasn’t there he was on Marinette’s desk, purposely making a nuisance of himself by batting her pencil out of her hands, sitting on her papers, or meowing loudly for attention when she was trying to read. And she couldn’t even get mad at him, because of course her class just oohed and aahed at the little kitty cat, saying of course he didn’t know he was doing anything wrong, and that he was just a little sweetheart.

Chat of course _grinned_ at her after phrases like that, because she knew that he knew what he was doing– and even worse she knew he was human under that fur that was enjoying every second of attention he got. She more than once placed him on the ground, leaving him to wander the classroom to be petted and adored by her classmates that fell for his charms. He was acting like the perfect pet.

At least until Lila showed up, late with the excuse of her being at some charity. The teacher didn’t even blink at this, just telling her to sit down, and Chat’s ears flicked up as she headed towards her desk.

“Oh my!” Lila cooed as soon as her eyes landed on him. “What an adorable little kitty! You know animals have always loved me, especially cats, Jagged Stone’s kitten just adored–!”

A long, violent hiss filled the air as she reached forward to pet Chat– his ears having gone back, fur raised up, the cat backing up as quickly as he could. White fangs were bared at her, claws fully extended as he inched back from her. Lila paused, and Chat turned and bolted for Marinette.

He climbed right up her, settling on her shoulder like a parrot, letting out loud purrs like nothing ever happened.

“They say pets take after their owners,” Kim joked. “Of course Mari’s cat doesn’t like Lila.”

And that was just the beginning. For the rest of the day Chat did not let Lila anywhere near Marinette– the girl being unable to even slip into the same groups or conversations without the black cat yowling and snarling like the devil himself had just strolled up. He never made an aggressive move towards her that could be twisted against him or Marinette, either fleeing from Lila’s presence like she had just kicked him, or sitting as sentry on Marinette’s shoulder– glaring.

And of course the class didn’t want to stress out the poor cat, and surely Lila wouldn’t mind just backing up a bit so the kitty was more comfortable. Then of course everyone wanted to be by the cat as well, to take turns holding him and cuddling him, and so they found themselves lingering near Marinette with Lila no where near them.

And for the first time in a long time Marinette was able to enjoy a day at school without Lila hovering over her shoulders, dropping all her little lies, trying to see how far she could push Marinette. Lila couldn’t even get a word in edge wise around them, not without the desperate and fearful yowls of an innocent kitty filling the classrooms and halls.

It was nice to have a school day where she could just relax, to be around her friends without feeling like the liar was going to pounce. Even if she did have to deal with Chat knocking her pencil case and water bottle off the desk multiple times, it was reassuring to feel him cuddle right up next to her.

It was a comfort to know that her partner had her back both when she was and wasn’t transformed.


	6. Day 6: AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for day 6 was "AU day", but since this whole story was an AU already here's my take on the prompt.

“I’m Ladybug.”

Marinette looked intently at Alya, gauging her friend’s reaction to this announcement.

"I can see,” Alya said. “And Adrien’s Chat Noir?”

“Yep!” Marinette said happily. “Aren’t the costumes adorable, I spend ages working on them!”

It was the class Halloween party, hosted by Chloe, and everyone was dressed up. Marinette and Adrien had kept on the quiet side about their costumes, having teamed up for theirs. Marinette had handmade theirs, while Adrien had paid for the supplies. It had been money he had earned from his modeling so his father couldn’t say no, but they had still been careful to avoid Gabriel catching word of the costume, because he would have probably had a heart attack if he saw Adrien dressed up as a cat.

Most of his suit was made from a faux leather, including two little cat ears on a headband peeking out from his currently-messy hair. He looked almost like a completely different person with it uncombed and sticking up in every direction, and Marinette would be lying if she said he didn’t look good. The tip of his nose had been painted black, along side some face paint on his cheeks to resemble whiskers.

Despite his costume being based off of a cat, they had not gone with the realistic route with the costumes, but rather something more along the lines of Batman– resembling an animal, but it being more of a suit for a hero. Adrien had a black mask covering his eyes, boots and gloves with a flare at the end, and even little metal ‘claws’ at the tip of his gloves. They had ordered an extra long belt to go around his waist, the end hanging down looking like a tail.

Most importantly Adrien had the same bell Chat Noir did, acting as the zipper for the suit. She had been tempted to add a red ribbon too, but she hadn’t wanted Adrien or anyone else connecting the idea of Chat Noir to her ‘pet’ cat that sometimes hung around.

Marinette had done the same with her animal-themed superhero costume but with Ladybug– a red spandex suit covered with black dots, and a mask with the same pattern. She had a red headband in her hair with two blank antennae sicking out, and a ‘cape’ acting as wings. The cape was split and rounded, made with a beautiful lace fabric Adrien had found, looking a lot like the translucent wings of an insect. She had used wiring to keep her ‘wings’ stiff and in place, and was very proud of the designs.

“But... why the mask and everything?” Alya asked. She was dressed up like a werewolf, while Nino had decided to go as a dragon. The rest of their classmates were in various costumes, but hers and Adrien’s were definitely the most unique.

“Because we’re heroes, of course,” Adrien said from behind them, putting an arm on Marinette’s shoulder. “The real Ladybug and Chat Noir protect the city, so we had to include that into our costumes.”

“Y-yeah, what he said,” Marinette said, flushing slightly. Usually she was able to put her feelings for Adrien aside fairly easily, but when she could see the outline of every muscle it was a bit more difficult. 

Adrien turned towards her, grinning. “You could say our costumes are _purr_ fect.”

Especially when he was only reminding her of Chat Noir, the one who had captured her heart.

“I th-think they’re a bit too scary to be called heroes,” Mylene whispered, shuddering. It did hurt knowing that some of her friends were terrified of her and Chat, but she never blamed Mylene. She was easily frightened, and she had been one of the first people ever caught up in Papillon’s attacks, so an early impression had been made of the ‘animals’.

“Who knows,” Adrien said, putting a clawed glove on his chest. “Maybe in an alternate universe they are heroes, running about in masks trying to hide their identities as they fight the evil akumas!”

“As humans?” Max said with a frown. “An interesting proposal. Perhaps in this hypothetical universe they under went the same experimentation as the cat and ladybug did in our world and gained the same powers, and they need to capture the rouge who has Papillon’s abilities...”

“The ‘escaped experiment’ theory is just a theory,” Marinette reminded him.

“But the most logical one,” Max insisted. “That’s why the government is so keen to capture them, but they’re acting like it wasn’t them that created them.”

“This kitty doesn’t want to hear conspiracy theories,” Adrien said dramatically. “So the cunning cat shall make his daring escape to the dance floor, with Ladybug of course,” he turned towards Marinette, holding out his hand and bowing. “Shall we, My Lady?”

Marinette’s heart stopped at those words, tensing up slightly. Adrien kept his hand out, not showing that there was any meaning to his words, just waiting for her. Struggling to take in a breath she told herself to calm down, and that his words didn’t mean anything. She was dressed as Ladybug, and there was ‘lady’ in her name, it was a natural nickname for him to use. He probably came up with it the same way Chat Noir did when he used it, it meant nothing.

“Of course, Kitty,” she replied with a smile, putting her hand in his. His fingers wrapped around hers, pausing for a moment as he gave her a glance. The two stared at each other for a moment, before he lead her to the dance floor with a smile.

 _What if...?_ She thought, but again she told herself to ignore it. Wishful thinking, that’s all.

Yet there was a gleam in his green eyes as he began to waltz with her among the other dancers, one that made it so easy to close her eyes and just pretend that it was Chat in front of her. The two of them just hanging out, enjoying the party, just being themselves.

Green eyes. Blond hair.

Her eyes flew open, and she saw Adrien looking at her so gently. She felt a lump form in her throat that she struggled to swallow, and she looked away as they danced. She couldn’t think like that, it wasn’t fair to either of them. She swiftly blinked away the forming moisture in her eyes, before looking back at Adrien with a smile.

She may have been a ladybug, but there was no way she was that lucky.


	7. Day 7: Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late, but here's the final chapter. Thank you for all the nice comments you guys have left on this story, I had a lot of fun writing it! ^^
> 
> I don't think this reveal will be the same one I'll use when I write a full version of this AU, but I think it fits well with the previous one shots in this fic and shows off more aspects of the Love Square of this universe that I couldn't cover.

"Marinette, what’s wrong?” Tikki asked, hovering over Marinette’s shoulder.

In her hand she held two flowers, one a pink cosmos, the other a stem of bluebells. The cosmos had been pressed and preserved from when Adrien had given it to Ladybug, and the bluebells were freshly picked.

“The universe is mocking me,” Marinette replied, shaking her head, before opening the large phone book she had used to press the first flower, setting the bluebells in it.

“By Adrien giving you flowers?” Tikki said with a frown.

“That’s the thing, he’s never given me flowers, he’s given me a _flower._ This first one was to Ladybug, and not me!” She carefully set the pressed one to the side, not wanting it to crumble. “I dunno– does it mean that the flower wasn’t a romantic gesture, if he gave one to a bug in the same way? I’ve just been getting so many mixed signals...”

“To be fair, you’ve been giving mixed signals,” Tikki replied.

“I’m just not sure what I want!” Marinette said in frustration.

Her feelings for Adrien were complicated– she had gotten a crush on him when they had first met, but that infatuation had died down as she had gotten to know him and become friends. But then from there more serious feelings of admiration had formed, but they were ones she had rarely acted on, because she and Adrien had a good friendship she didn’t want to risk, one formed during a time when there was no one else she could talk to about Ladybug and Chat Noir in a positive light except for with him.

That was where the other problems arose– Chat Noir.

She loved her partner, and he loved her. They were both aware of it, but there was nothing either could do about it. There were only a handful of times they could smuggle away into the darkness to interact as humans, and the rest of the time they were trapped in an animal form that prevented any opportunity of a romantic relationship. That hadn’t stopped them from trying– looking up at the stars on rooftops with each other, having meals together, curling up in the warm sun– but they were both aware that there would always be a wall between them as long as their identities remained hidden.

So she was free to pursue someone else, someone like Adrien, someone she was interested in and who was showing interest in her. He had become so much of a flirt recently, dropping winks and puns and just general compliments of admiration, and of course most recently his gift of flowers from his garden. He was showing he was interested in every way without directly saying it, probably waiting for her to do the same before he took anything a step further.

And she wanted to so badly, she wanted to see what could happen between her and Adrien, how much closer they could become. Yet every time she prepared to actually do something she found herself pulling back, retreating from the opportunity.

Because Adrien always seemed to do something right then that reminded her of Chat Noir, and she’d feel the guilt rise within her. She didn’t know if it was guilt for not choosing Chat, or guilt that she could possibly only be pursuing Adrien because he reminded her of someone else. Whatever it was she found herself jumping ship, tucking herself back into the cocoon of friendship.

Tikki landed on her shoulder. “If you want my advice, Marinette, I say go for it. Don’t hesitate, don’t worry, and I promise you that you will be happy.”

“Thanks, Tikki,” she said with a smile, but both of them knew that things would never be simple for her.

* * *

The next few days at school were the same as the last few days– Adrien picking her up from the bakery like he often did, hanging out with her friends, and of course the constant pressure of what she would do hanging above her.

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, no one was pressuring her. If anything Adrien was doing anything but that, keeping his advances clear but distant, refusing to do anything more without her giving the okay. The most bold thing he he had done was give her the flowers, and had done so casually that maybe it wasn’t even meant to be romantic. Like, there was no way his flower to Ladybug had been that way, and so maybe she was over thinking all of this and Adrien was going to think she was weird if she asked him out or–

Okay, now she _was_ overthinking.

“Everything okay, Mari?” Adrien asked as they walked down the hall.

“Of course!” She said brightly, giving him a smile.

He smiled back. “Well, if you ever need help with anything you just let me know, okay Princess?”

She found herself going still as he said these words, vision blurring slightly. Princess... that was what Chat called her. Not what he called Ladybug– but rather Marinette. She had never heard him directly address her as that before, but when he talked about her civilian form with Ladybug it was always with that nickname present. She tried to blink back the forming tears, but the next thing she knew they were running down her face.

“Marinette?” Adrien asked in worry, eyes wide. “I didn’t make you uncomfortable, right? I’m sorry! I’m–“

Green eyes. Blond hair.

“Ex-excuse me,” she choked out, pushing past him and bolting for the nearest bathroom. There was no reason for her to be crying right now– she knew that– but that didn’t stop the tears from falling as she locked herself in a stall, Tikki zipping out of her purse.

“Marinette?” The kwami asked in worry.

“I can’t do this!” She cried. “This isn’t fair! Not to me, and not to either of them!”

“Mari–!”

“I keep looking at him and seeing Chat!” She cried. “I don’t want to lose my best friend looking for someone else, and he doesn’t deserve someone that’s drawn to him just because he’s like someone else! Someone whose stupid face I haven’t even seen!”

“Marinette, we’ve talked about this before, there’s nothing wrong with–“

“It’s not a type, it’s not just certain traits I find admirable,” she snapped. “It’s Chat! Every time I look at Adrien now I find myself thinking of Chat. When my mind wanders it goes to Chat! I love Adrien, I r-really do, but I can’t be with him if I’m just going to keep putting him as second!”

Tikki looked distressed now. “I think you just need to take a step back, Mari, that’s all–”

She wiped the tears from her eyes, her mind already made up. She did need to take a step back, from all of this. The answer was simple, in front of her the whole time– she needed to go after no one. She wasn’t in the mindset to do this now, not when she was torn so easily, not when she was drawn to someone she couldn’t be with. It would be hard, but easier on everyone in the end.

* * *

Things were different between her and Adrien after that, he had understood that she wasn’t interested, and had backed off from his advances– yet they didn’t fall back to how they used to be. There seemed to be a sadness to his smiles, a far off look in his eyes. What was worse for Marinette was that her mind kept looking for similarities between him and Chat, and constantly kept bringing them to her attention.

Things were also different between her and Chat. When he visited her as Marinette he didn’t seem quite as playful, just curled up with her listening as he often did. When they were out battling things seemed to have taken a more professional turn. Their teamwork didn’t fade, but a lot of the lightness of their conversations seemed to have flickered out.

And it was driving Marinette insane.

She was miserable, she knew it, and it was of her own doing. She had been the one to suddenly build up these walls, even in places she didn’t mean to, and it was affecting more dynamics than she had ever realized. What was worse was that Chat and Adrien were so accepting of it as well, never questioning the distance she had suddenly put between them, remaining supportive as always.

Her friends weren’t as quiet, however. Alya was determined to figure out what had happened and fix it, and others seemed keen to just offer support as she found herself growing more withdrawn. She didn't encourage or discourage any of this, just feeling like she had no idea of what to do.

“Morning, Mari,” Adrien said as she took her seat behind him, turning to smile at her. That smile made her want to melt, and she offered a small one of her own.

“Good morning, Adrien,” she replied, yet she couldn’t find much else to say. “Um... you guys ready for today? Test next class, right?”

“Yep,” Alya said, just a bit too cheerfully. “I was up half of the night studying, I’m running on caffeine today. Thank goodness I already finished Miss Bustier’s assignment a few nights ago.”

Marinette’s eyes widened, and she jumped to her feet.

Alya sighed. “Don’t tell me you forgot, girl.”

“Yes– I mean no– I mean–“ she closed her eyes. “I finished it, I just left it in my locker, that’s all.”

“We have time until class starts, dude,” Nino said with a smile. “Go grab it, I’m sure you won’t be late.”

“Right, of course,” Marinette said, relaxing slightly. She hadn’t been running late today, she was fine. She pulled away from her desk. “I’ll be right back.”

“Mari?” Adrien asked right before she bolted for the door, and she turned. “Do you think you could stick my jacket in my locker for me?”

“Yeah, of course,” she said, grabbing the jacket as he held it out.

He beamed. “Thank you!”

She smiled, and for a moment everything felt normal between them. “No problem!”

The four of them all knew each other’s locker combinations, this was far from the first time one of them had ran to grab or drop off something for the others. The hallways were still full of students with class having yet to start, but much to her surprise the locker room was empty, just Juleka walking out right as she walked in. She gave her a wave, before heading to Adrien’s locker and opening it up.

Normally she would have just tossed the jacket in, then headed off to grab her assignment, but she couldn’t help but pause as she looked at his locker door. Pictures of him and his friends covered it, but she couldn’t help but notice a majority of them were of her. One of them together on her birthday, holding up their matching lucky charms, another from the time they had managed to get Adrien’s dad to give permission for him to come to the class sleepover, one of them with Alya and Nino as they went out for ice cream.

She couldn’t help but smile as she looked over them, putting his jacket on top of a pile of textbooks, knocking something off of the top of them in the process. This quickly snapped her out of her thoughts, and she leaned down to pick up the red object to put it back.

Her entire body tensed as she looked down at it– a red ribbon covered in black dots, tied in a bow– and right in the center of the bow was a familiar golden bell.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she held the ribbon. She quickly turned it over, fingers passing over velcro just where she knew it would be. She took in a sharp breath as she ran her fingers over the inside of her ribbon, where she felt her embroidered signature.

Marinette instantly recoiled from it, mind racing between any other possibility, but she knew they weren’t possible. This wasn’t a copy, it was the one she had made with her own hands. He couldn’t have taken it from Chat Noir, because he was too protective of his belongings. Chat wouldn’t have given it away, because she knew just how much he had treasured it.

But he wouldn’t leave it right in the open either, right in the middle of his locker where the entire class could see it if he were to open it. He wouldn’t have sent Marinette to his locker with it there, knowing that she would see it and recognize it–

Her fingers tightened around the bow, realizing that he had wanted her to see it. He hadn’t sent her to his locker to put his jacket away, he had sent her here to find it.

_Adrien was Chat Noir._

Her Kitty, her best friend– they were one and the same.

Chat Noir would never give away his identity though, not even to Marinette. She knew him better than that, that he would never pull in an outsider. So if he was willing to tell her... that must mean he knew who she was.

 _My Lady. Princess. Bluebell flowers._ Everything began running through her head, words he had said to her, and her breath got caught in her throat the more her mind opened up. Things he had said to her that only Chat should know, asking her about things she had only confided to him as Ladybug.

He knew and had been waiting for her, had been trying to tell her, and she had pushed him away. Everything had been right in front of her, and she had been blind.

“Tikki,” she whispered, clutching the bow tighter. “Tikki I messed up.”

Her kwami peered up from her from her purse. “No, Marinette, you didn’t.”

“B-but I–“

“I don’t care about what you did, Marinette, and neither does Chat! I think the only thing he cares about is what you’re going to do now.”

And so with the jacket and assignment abandoned, Marinette raced out of the locker room, bow clutched in her hand. No one would blink at her holding it, as it belonged to her cat after all.

_Her Kitty._

She threw open the classroom door, her classmates looking at her in surprise from her desperate entrance, as it was still too early for her to be late. She paid none of them any heed, her eyes locking on Adrien’s bright green eyes, which held the same sheepish expression she had often seen on him as a cat. He rubbed at the back of his neck, eyes flickering from the bow, then up to her eyes– gaze hopefully.

“Hello, My Lady,” he said softly, and tears stung her eyes. 

She threw herself forward into his arms, and he brought her into his tight embrace. She closed her eyes, and it was just like when they were alone. Perhaps she wasn’t seeing him, but she still knew him. The feel of his arms around her, his familiar scent, the way his chest rose and fell.

“Chaton,” she breathed– she had found him. He had been right here this whole time, waiting. “It’s you, it’s really you.”

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “I always have.”

With that they brought each other into a kiss, neither hesitating, barely aware of the cheers from the classmates, or their shifting kwamis in their pocket and purse. All she cared about was his lips on hers. The knowledge that she could have him, that she didn’t have to choose. She could be his and he could be hers.

They were breathing heavily as they pulled back, looking tenderly at each other, still locked in an embrace. Green eyes, blond hair, just like she had known– but he was more amazing than she had ever imagined.

“And I always will,” she whispered, before pulling him back into a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of ideas for this AU, a lot of which I couldn't explore in these handful of one shots. I do plan on writing more fics in this AU sometime in the future, from Origins to Hawk Moth's fall, once I'm done with some other fics. 
> 
> It will be posted to the "Shapeshifting AU" series this fic is apart of, if anyone is interested.
> 
> Thank you for reading, this was my first time participating in any ML week/month event, and I really enjoyed it. :)

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me on tumblr! (Graaythekwami)](https://graaythekwami.tumblr.com/)


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